ABSTRACT
The birth of a newborn in most cases marks a joyous occasion for a family. However, occasionally it is dampened by the tragedy of a congenital anomaly or illness within the first few weeks of life, a period that accounts for most childhood fatalities. In this chapter we endeavor to outline some of the acquired problems relating to the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Whilst it is acknowledged that almost all acquired GI problems of childhood may present within the neonatal period, most are rare events in newborns (e.g. appendicitis, intussusception, inflammatory bowel disease), and it would be beyond the scope of this chapter to discuss all such problems exhaustively. In this chapter we focus instead on the four common GI problems encountered in the first few weeks of life: necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), gastroesophageal reflux (GER), infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (IHPS) and inguinal hernia.
